Book Review – The Legend of Deathwalker
Author: David Gemmell
Publisher: Bantam
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: February 1996
The Legend of Deathwalker is another offering from author David Gemmell taking place in his Drenai setting, again chronicling the continuing, or perhaps more aptly put the past adventures and deeds of Gemmell’s most popular creation Druss, whom he both introduced, and depicted his heroic down fall in his first novel Legend. The same could be said for all of Gemmell’s novels and in that The Legend of Deathwalker will not disappoint Gemmell’s existing fanbase, who enjoy his brand of heroic fantasy, nor will is silence any of those that have been critical of his prior work Because of this, Gemmell is nothing if not consistent.
First and foremost, the sequence of events that take place in The Legend of Deathwalker occur chronologically before Gemmell’s aforementioned first novel Legend. I have reviewed several Gemmell novels now and would recommend reading them in order of publication (as is the case 99% of the time with speculative fiction in my opinion). This is important because simply The Legend of Deathwalker will not be nearly as entertaining of a read if not reading Legend first. There are certain truths we learn in Legend, that are brought into better light in Deathwalker, and these instances offer in my opinion many off the novels more admirable moments. Gemmell’s practice of often referring to prior works (that take place after the given setting chronologically), are handled well in my opinion, not overdone, and offer the reader some familiarity between his works and more importantly give a semblance of continuity between them. Some of the most fun moments in my reading of Gemmell are in sequences when he references his prior work illuminating small, often not vital, but just interesting aspects of his time line. In short if you haven’t read Legend, don’t read The Legend of Deathwalker, or for that matter the rest of this review.
In The Legend of Deathwalker we find Druss participating in the Fellowship Games (think Olympics) in the seat of the Gulgothir Empire. He is accompanied by his poet friend Sieben, and with him due to a pre-fight mortal injury of the Gultgothir champion Klay, an injury inflicted by saving Druss’s life from a bolt meant for him, will travel outside of Gulgothir to a Nadir shrine where it is said The Eyes of Alchazzar are hidden, which are twin gems, ancient talismans of the Nadir people, that alone have the power to heal Klay. It is important to note, at this time the Nadir are not the power they are in Legend. The Nadir are still a divided, a poor people, often hunted by the Gultgothir for sport. They still await the prophesized coming of their leader, The Uniter, who will lead the Nadir back to prosperity. Those of us who have read Legend, know the Uniter as the Nadir Warlord Ulric. Not surprisingly, Druss finds himself in the middle of a historical event again, as he and Sieben find themselves with small groups of several Nadir tribes defending their Shrine against overwhelming odds of advancing Gulgothir soldiers (who want the Eyes themselves and are led by teh tacticaly sound, and Nadir-hating Lord Gargan). The Gulgothir field 2,000 men, and are challenged by Druss and some 200 Nadir. Existing fans of the Gemmell will not be disappointed ,as once again we find Druss, where he is at his best, on a wall aiding others against insurmountable odds. Gemmell’s depiction of Druss as really something along the lines of a force of nature, more than simply a peerless warrior, is continued in the novel and actually given some measurement in a scene where he and the Nadir General Talisman (who is not now, nor will prove in the future to be a slouch by any definition) where their individual zhi (think chi, or strength of soul) was witnessed, where Druss’s was some three times more than Talisman’s.
There is quite a bit I think Gemmell fans, particularly the fans of his ‘Drenai’ setting will like in The Legend of Deathwalker. The aforementioned touching on previously know elements are well done, for instance we find out how Druss earns his Nadir nickname he is referred to with reverence in Legend – Deathwalker. We also learn more of the Nadir Shaman in Legend Nosta Khan, and most interesting, we learn the nature of the depth of the respect Ulric has for Druss while battling him at Dros Delnoch in Legend, and the origin of the Warlord himself. I always found Ulric to be the most intriguing character in Legend, and the dialogue between him and Druss to be the most worthwhile in the novel In this novel we learn the respect Ulric has for Druss is well earned, and more of a debt of honor. Gemmell also describes the battle scenes admirably, and I enjoyed the discussions Sieben and Druss shared about their perspectives on honor, good, evil, really giving their friendship some added gravity and normalcy. Of course the pivotal event occurring in the novel is really the beginnings of what would become the Nadir Empire. That Druss in this novel aids its beginnings, the irony of course he sets in motion what will causes his death in Legend.
The most telling negative element inherent with Gemmell’s work becomes evident after you review a few of his novels, and that is all the reviews are fundamentally the same, and that is a reflection on the fact that the works mirror each other so much. I mentioned earlier that Gemmell is nothing if not consistent. The problem with being consistent is its a very thin line in between consistency and redundancy. There is very little different thematically and in structure in regards to Gemmell’s formula that changes from novel to novel, regardless of whether it’s in his Drenai or Rigante settings. You simply don’t witness any growth or anything dynamic in the work, and as I touched on earlier this is probably why Gemmell will always have his fans, and in equal numbers his detractors. I am looking forward to his next work, Troy: Lord of the Silverbow apparently taking place in Troy, due out in September to see if Gemmell decides to deviate slightly, especially thematically.
Like his novels, and like the reviews that mirror them ,the grades I give for Gemmell novels remain of course in the same range likewise. Heroic fantasy never has been, nor ever will be my preferred reading preference, but Gemmell entertains better than most of who I would categorize in the same mold.
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